Historical Periods

Ancient Sage Kings (Yao/Shun/Yu)—Abdication based on virtue and merit; rule by virtue;

Xia to Qing Dynasty (2070 BCE to 1911 AD)—Dynastic system, hereditary succession;

Xia/Shang/Zhou—Political structure is loose; Qin to Qing—Chinese empire: Tighter

political structure, strong sense of unification;

Modern China

1911 to 1949—National Party in the mainland; 1949 to the present—Communist Party rule in the

mainland after the National Party lost the Civil War (1945-1949);

1949 to the present—Taiwan’s shift from one party system to the two-party system (National Party and Progressive Party);

Status of Hong Kong—China lost Hong Kong to the British as a result of the First Opium War (1839-1842); Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997.

Zhou Dynastyabout 800 years

武王伐纣King Wu of Zhou Attacked/Punished

King Zhou of Shang

King Wǔ of Zhōu (Chinese: 周武王 ; pinyin: zhōu wǔ wáng) or King Wu of Chou was the first sovereign, or ruler of the Chinese Zhōu Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1046-1043 BCE or 1049/45-1043 (Cambridge History of Ancient China).

讨伐【 tǎofá 】 send a punitive expedition against (associated with justice, 口诛笔伐

【 kǒuzhūbǐfá 】 condemn both in speech and in writing.)

Battle of MuyeVictor Huang Wei-de as King Wu

The Battle of Muye (or Mu) ( 牧野之戰 ) was fought in China perhaps 1046 BC. The battle led to the end of the Shang dynasty, and the beginning of the Zhou dynasty.

Mandate of Heaven天命【 tiānmìng 】 God's will; the mandate of heaven; destiny; fate.

In order to counter the Shang's claims to divine right of rule due to their descent from the god Ti, the Duke of Zhou formulated the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. According to this doctrine, the Shang had grossly offended Heaven: thus Heaven had commanded the reluctant Zhou to replace them and restore order.

Consult Ebrey’s East Asia 16-17; The Announcement of Shao—read in class http://ctext.org/shang-shu/zhou-shu

Divine right of kings

君权神授【 jūnquánshénshòu 】 moꞌnarchical power granted by heaven; divine power

The divine right of kings, or divine-right theory of kingship, is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God.

Sir Robert Filmer (1588 – 26 May 1653) vs. John Locke: "all men are created equal", in the

Declaration of Independence, was borrowed from Locke.

the system of enfeoffment

分封制【 fēnfēngzhì 】 the system of enfeoffment (of the Western Zhou Dynasty, c.11th. century-771 B.C., investing the nobility with hereditary titles, territories and slaves).

Enfeoffmentin the Zhou Dynasty

井田制【 jǐngtiánzhì 】the 'nine squares' system with one large square divided into 9 small ones (like the Chinese character 井jǐng), the 8 outer ones being allocated to serfs who had to cultivate the central one for the serf owner.

Principles on EnfeoffmentHouse of Zhou and its vassals 诸侯

King vs. Duke (page 16)

1. who shared the same family name ( 嫡系【 díxì 】 direct line of descent; one's own

clique; 庶出【 shùchū 】 <old> of or by the concubine (as

distinguished from the legal wife); 2. founding generals; 3. descendants of the ancient kings The system of enfeoffment was one of the major

measures adopted by the Western Zhou dynasty to consolidate its power.

The Book of Songs or ShijingClassic of Poetry 诗经

305 poems in the final version; Collected from different states in the North Content: Airs/Feng 風 , Odes/Ya 雅 , Hymns/Song 頌 Style: Fu 赋 Expositio Exposition; to lay something bare

and plain by description. Comparatio/Comparison ( 比 bi)/analogy Xing 兴 is called Exhor’tatio, Latin, a‘ffective 抒发感

情的 images to express emotions or feelings

King You of Zhou周幽王 r. 781 to 771 BCE.

烽火台【 fēnghuǒ 】 beacon tower on the Great Wall for the military purpose;

The Wolf is coming…

褒姒 baosi, his concubine